Picture Credit: Inhibiting Sclerostin May Prevent Osteoporosis- from Innovations-Report.com
On Thursday, Harvard University will open a 15,000-square-foot life science lab in Allston named after Steve Pagliuca, and executive at Bain Capital and co-owner of the Boston Celtics. The Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab will be the home to 20 startup ventures founded and run by Harvard faculty, alumni, students, and postdocs. “The fully equipped wet lab environment, collaborative co-working space, and educational resources will support high-potential biotech, pharma, and other life sciences-related ventures that have at least one Harvard founder. Teams were evaluated on a number of criteria including their science, stage of development, potential for impact, and ability to be a strong community member,” Harvard explained.
Mayor Marty Walsh will attend the opening this Thursday at 3 p.m. at 125 Western Ave., right next to the Harvard Innovation Lab, which opened in 2011, and the Harvard Launch Lab, an incubator that opened in 2014. Other attendees include Steve and Judy Pagliuca as well as Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria and Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust. The new lab will be operated by Cambridge-based Lab Central.
The first 17 of those were revealed by the university a couple weeks ago, and they include drug and vaccine developers as well as DNA sequencing companies.
Akous – College, HBS, Blavatnik Fellow
Akouos is developing novel therapies and delivery systems to prevent hearing loss and restore hearing in genetically defined patient populations.
Aldatu Biosciences – GSAS, HSPH
Aldatu’s lead product is a low-cost HIV drug resistance genotyping test designed to guide clinical decision-making in resource-limited healthcare settings.
Beacon Genomics – HMS
Beacon Genomics is an early-stage startup company focused on enabling safe and effective therapeutic applications of genome editing nucleases by defining and optimizing genome-wide specificity.
BiomaRx – HMS
An oncology-focused startup, BiomaRX is focused on developing the first non-invasive early stage pancreatic cancer diagnostic.
change:WATER Labs, Inc. – College
change:WATER Labs is developing solutions to drastically minimize the increasing volumes of off-grid residential, commercial and industrial wastewater, leveraging a super-hydrophilic polymer that passively eliminates 85-99% of waste volumes onsite. Our first product will be a portable, evaporative toilet for homes with no power or plumbing, specifically in refugee camps and low-income communities in developing countries.
DayZero Diagnostics – GSAS
DayZero is developing a rapid diagnostic for identifying drug-resistant pathogens in clinical samples. It uses next-generation genome sequencing and data-driven algorithms to rapidly identify pathogen species and predict drug resistance, in hours rather than in days (the current culture-based standard), so physicians can quickly prescribe the most effective antibiotic.
Gel4Med – SEAS
Gel4Med is focused on improving the outcomes in regenerative medicine through the design and engineering of smart biomaterials that instruct and harness the innate capacity of the body to heal.
GRO Biosciences (GRObio) – Wyss Institute/HMS
Using our microbes with an expanded genetic code, GRO Biosciences makes therapeutic proteins with new stabilizing bonds to enable inexpensive microbial fermentation, fast production times, and long serum half-life.
Nix – HBS, SEAS, Blavatnik Fellow
Nix is developing a single-use consumer diagnostic platform that ad¬dresses the white space between the biosensor market and activity trackers, with an initial focus on hydration for athletes, soldiers, and laborers.
PathoVax – HMS
PathoVax is transforming the multi-billion HPV vaccine market with RGVax to target all cancer-causing HPVs neglected by current offerings.
Piper Therapeutics – College, HBS
Piper Therapeutics is focused on using small molecules to modify immune system signaling, preventing tumors from acquiring macrophages.
Riparian Pharmaceuticals – College, SEAS
Riparian is discovering therapeutics to promote vascular health and treat the leading causes of human mortality. Its unique approach of modulating biology within the blood vessel wall aims to add a new therapeutic dimension to cardiovascular, diabetic, and kidney diseases.
Suono Bio – HMS
Suono Bio is developing technology that enables ultra-rapid delivery of therapeutics across biologic tissues, such as the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
UnNamed – HMS
UnNamed’s technologies enable living cells to sense and respond to chemicals. This is done by engineering proteins to become dependent on binding to a target molecule, allowing for the generation of novel biosensors that can be used for optimizing bioproduction of useful chemicals, environmental toxin detection, or drug discovery.
UrSure Inc. – HKS
An HIV prevention company, UrSure Inc. boosts boost adherence to the HIV preventive medication, PrEP, by making patient and physician friendly urine tests that allow doctors to monitor patient compliance to the medication.
Vaxess Technologies, Inc. HBS, SEAS, HKS, HLS
Vaxess is using silk to create the next generation of vaccines that combine high temperature stability with novel delivery formats such as oral films and sustained release microneedles.
XGenomes – HMS
XGenomes is developing groundbreaking DNA sequencing technologies, with the goal of accelerating the path towards personalized medicine
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